Mom, Daddy Dave, and Markie

Yep, another post about my Kansas trip! There's only one more I promise ;) Anyway, before Devin and I headed out of town we stopped by Daddy Dave's to say bye to him and my Mom.

Mom and David, or Daddy Dave as I refer to him, were high school sweethearts and he is the father of my two older half sisters. They have remained close all these years and I'm glad because I like to visit up there. The first memory I have of Daddy Dave was when he picked us up at the airport. I was so anxious to get to his house and see my sisters and play that I kept bugging them both about the age old question...."Are we there yet?" He finally gave me some valuable advice..."If you go to sleep we will get there faster!" I don't actually remember if I did go to sleep that trip but I did remember that advice. He can tell you I put it to good use years later when he and Mom would come pick me up from Tipton and take me to Kansas for visits. haha Even though he and my mom are no longer considered a "couple" he is still there for her and I am very thankful of that. And I'm sure he is thankful for mom...after all...she makes him stick to his diabetic diet ;) They both give each other a hard time but they love each other and I am always glad to go see them. Even though I don't get to sleep much during the car ride up there anymore. It's hard to doze when you're driving haha but Devin takes over the wheel sometimes so it doesn't seem to take as long.

*Markie, Me, Mom, and Daddy Dave*

*Love my "little" brother...why did he have to grow up haha*

*For a long time these two were apart of my everyday life. I miss them bunches and love them dearly!*

Hope you all are staying safe on those icy roads!! I didn't have to go to work today but I'll be out there tomorrow. Hope it melts on the roads before then!
xoxo,
Brandi Sue

April and Chris

The last post was about my big brother and now it's my big sister's turn! April is my half sister and is the oldest of our Mom's kiddos. Then it's Tiffanie, Me, and once again...4 years later Markie Poo! Yep he's the youngest every time ;) Growing up we did get to see each other some but it was never on a regular basis and since we were kids, we couldn't do anything about it. My sisters and their dad lived in Kansas while we were way down in Texas. Even though I didn't get to see them often, in my eyes and heart, they were my sisters. I missed out on the big sister talks growing up though but I guess I missed out on the teasing too so maybe it wasn't all a loss ;) just kidding! I would have rather gone through the teasing than lived without them, I wanted big sisters really bad! (I noticed growing up that sometimes I would tend to look up to other girls and see them as big sisters. It's not that I was trying to replace them, it was something I did without realizing it. I actually didn't notice it until recently. There are a few of my friends who I look up to more than befriend...does that make sense? Like I won't be goofy in front of them because I don't want them to make fun of me or I feel weird drinking in front of them like I will get in trouble or something haha. But that's not what this post is about so back to my actual sisters....) So, as soon as I was able to take matters into my own hands, I have tried my best to stay in touch and be a part of their lives.

April is the tom boy and athletic one in our family...that's how I see her anyway! Even though she is the oldest...she's the shortest!! But don't let that fool you because I have seen her wrestle her dog to the ground, the girl has moves! I guess we could ask Chris's opinion but I don't know him well enough to embarrass him ;) She also has the coolest birthday...7-7-77! (I'll do the math for you...she's 29) She hasn't won the lottery yet but maybe someday soon! She and I have also both been dabbling more into a interest of ours...photography. She enjoys taking photos of scenery and I always look forward to seeing her pics. She uses the name Quad 7 Photography, from her birthday. Since I don't have a cool birthday like hers...I'm still nameless haha.

When Devin and I went to Kansas this Christmas, we stayed with Chis and April. She had to work so we didn't get to spend a lot of time together but the time we did have was nice! On our last evening there, we decided to go out to the park and get some pictures. Well...the park was more like a swap from all the rain and it was cold! The sun was also quickly setting...so we didn't have a lot of time. Next time I go up there my goal is to have an all family day so we can all get pictures!! Well...I guess we will get some in June at my wedding haha. Anyway, it's getting late and I'm rambling...so enjoy the pictures!!

*Yay for real smiles!*

*Love both of these!*

Thanks you too for letting us stay at your house! Hope you can come see us soon! We might even treat you to a trip to the OU campus ;) haha
xoxo,
Brandi

We are fam-il-y

When Devin and I were in Kansas we were finally able to meet up with my half brother Tony. It has been a long time coming! I haven't seen him since I was around 3 or 4!! He is the oldest child on my Dad's side followed by me and then four years later along came Markie Poo (Or Mark as he likes to be called). haha Not only did I get to meet my brother...I also met my sister-in-law, niece, and nephew! I can't believe how big the kiddos are and I'm glad to finally be a part of their lives! Kyana, my niece, was quiet most of the time. I'm told she wasn't feeling good so maybe the next time I see her we can talk more! She just got a cell phone so she played with it most of the night. Antonio was shy at first and then he found the X-Box. He was entertained the rest of the evening!

*Our first family photo!*

*I didn't try to make them take a traditional photo, maybe next time haha*

*Ordered by age*

*First time to all be in the same picture! Tony 28, Me 24, Mark 20*

*Mom jumped in for a quick pic. She raised Tony for a few years*

It was nice getting together and catching up. I know that this time we will stay in touch. I can't wait to get everyone together at my wedding! It may be impossible but it's my wish! Well I need to work on some scrapbooking. Catch ya later!

xoxo,
Brandi

Meet and smell....uh...I mean greet

When Devin and I were planning our trip to Kansas we pondered what to do with our "kiddos". Sure, there was the option of leaving them at the vet. Which is what we used to do...until I decided that was a waste of money. They charge us full price for both ferrets despite the fact that I bring my own cage, food, and litter. The last time we boarded them, I decided to let them use their own supplies since I was obviously paying for it. When I returned the ferrets had been fed cat food and had cat litter in their box. Big NO NO. My attempts to get some kind of discount for long stays or some kind of percentage off after so many stays was denied. So...long story kinda short...that wasn't an option. Our other option is obviously friends/family. Since most people don't have any experience with ferrets and don't have ferret friendly homes, I hate to bug them about it. If something happened to them I know they would feel bad which in turn would make me feel bad and so I don't like that. Devin's Aunt Kellie has watched them a lot for us..er well actually Dakota is supposed to but you know how it goes with teenagers ;) Anyway, they are my favorite babysitters but I didn't want to bug them on a long trip and I don't want to over ask either ! So...it was settled...they would come with us! My family had been wanting to meet them anyway! Okay...so after that long run on sentence/paragraph (it'slate) here's some fun pictures documenting the occasion. Enjoy!

*This is April, my sister, and her kiddo Crackerjack. You can't tell from this picture but he is hissing and growling. He was NOT happy to meet his "cousins" haha*

*Okay, so you can definitely tell in this picture how unhappy he was to have visitors! Chris, my brother in law, is trying to tame the beast ;) *

*This is Fender, I'm not too sure he figured out what the furry little creatures were but he LOVED the company*

*They did this a lot. Hence the tittle of the blog*

Okay, so Crackerjack is normally a sweet kitty I promise! So here's some nice pictures of him to show his more "gentle" side haha.

*Here's how they treat each other ;) I wish I had been zoomed out more but it's still funny!*

*Here's how Oreo felt about them! Love this pose!*

*My Mom will have to be happy with furry grand kids for now!*

I still have like 5 posts left from my Kansas trip...but it's bedtime for now!

XOXO,
Brandi

Merry Christmas #4...I think haha

Okay so when you have family all over you get a lot of Christmases! This one is the one I label "Gibson Christmas" which is in Olathe, KS and it consisted of my Mom, Step Dad, Half Sister, Brother in Law, Brother, Oreo, Devin, and myself. My Aunt and cousins stopped by for a little bit but I didn't have my camera ready then...I was munching on Mom's good cooking! I actually didn't get many pictures from that night so later Devin and I stopped back by for the posey formal holiday pics. I'll post those later though!

*Daddy Dave and April handing out presents*

*April and Chris*

*Mom finally has a keyboard again*

*Mikey, my cousin, and Mark I can't believe how grown they are!*

It was nice spending time with everyone and it was pretty peaceful this year! The weather was nice traveling, although I was sad that they didn't have lots of snow! It's the only time I usually get to see it since it doesn't snow here much anymore. Plus I got my sister a snow ball slinger and I really wanted to try it out haha. Oh well, maybe next year!!

Well I gotta get to bed. I have a long day tomorrow! I have 10 patients spread out from Mangum, Reed (where the heck is that?!), Granite, Hobart, and Altus!! Which reminds me that I haven't blogged about my new job! Maybe I'll get to it after I catch up from my trip to Kansas!

Hope you all had a safe New Years and weren't hung over too bad ;) I stayed up late playing Lego Indiana Jones with Devin haha What a nerd huh?!

xoxo,
Brandi